A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for billing a service representative call, for example, for a psychic counseling network service, such as the Yellow Pages Psychic Network (.TM.) service available from Zodiac Group, Inc. and to call limiting, call blocking, fraud control and payment and billing arrangements thereof.
B. Description of the Related Arts
So-called psychic network services have been in operation for several years. A service representative, or agent, at such a service counsels a caller who has called on an 800 or 900 telephone number regarding life, love and prosperity. For a fee, the caller can ask any question of the service representative and, generally, the service representative may counsel to the caller regarding the question.
Presently, a caller to the Yellow Pages Psychic Network service dials one of a plurality of telephone numbers that are used by the network for determining the advertising source from which the caller became aware of the psychic network service. Each respective telephone number connects a caller to the same service bureau where an automatic call distribution (ACD) system distributes calls among service representatives. The caller hears an announcement regarding costs and charges, referred to as a preamble, and is then offered a menu of choices. The caller is given a choice to hear brief resumes of the service representatives that are presently available. When the caller decides on a specific psychic, the caller may press the * button, for example, to reach that particular psychic. When the caller already knows the extension number of a psychic that the caller has used before, that particular telephone extension may be entered. The caller controls the call, but can speak only to one psychic during the call.
ACD telecommunications equipment is known for providing this and other types of telecommunications services. Common-controlled ACD equipment is available, for example, from Lucent Technologies, Inc. and other manufacturers of common-controlled switching equipment. Typically, a service bureau or related organization offers services through a service bureau-owned ACD system. Such an ACD system directs a call from a caller requesting service to a next available service representative listed in a service representative availability queue. It is always assumed that one service representative responds to a call. Service representatives, typically equipped with displays and operator type headsets for hands-free operation, usually consult databases for, for example, making travel reservations. To this end, service representatives have access to large computer databases of travel reservation and billing information.
Billing arrangements for such service bureau organizations are primitive and may rely on a 900 service for the service provider to bill the caller for the service provided. For an 800 number call, the service provider pays for the call and must insure that payment for the service will be received, even more so than for 900-based call. The service provider records credit card or other payment data manually into a memory of a billing system for properly billing the call. Such procedures have led to many callers questioning their bills in many instances. Additionally, dishonest callers have received free calls using fraudulent payment schemes, improper granting of credit and the like because of inefficiencies associated with conventional billing procedures.
One approach for overcoming these and other problems is provided by a service offered by a company known as Mile High Psychics that uses credit cards for prepayment for blocks of service usage time. Credit authorization is obtained well in advance of when service is provided. For example, the customer may purchase a block of 25 minutes of service in advance of a call and utilize a personal identification number or code (PIN) at the time of the call for accessing the service.
Another approach is presented by U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,740 to Biggs, Jr., et al. which discloses a system connected to a central distribution computer that enables a user to access and pay for amenities using a telephone for entering amenity identification and billing information. A billing database is connected to the central distribution computer for validating entered billing information.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,113 to Kight et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,829 to Anderson are both directed to a method for paying bills electronically. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,113 to Kight et al., a computerized payment system is implemented by which a consumer may instruct a service provider by telephone, computer terminal, or by using another telecommunications technique to pay various bills without the consumer being required to write a check for each bill. The service provider collects information from consumers, financial institutions and merchants, and arranges payment to the merchants according to each consumer's specific instructions. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,829 to Anderson discloses an electronic bill payment system and method that includes billing equipment for creating approval records and generating approval numbers for each pre-authorized subscriber. The system also includes an interactive payment approval apparatus into which subscribers dial for approving payment and which determines, based upon information collected, whether to initiate an electronic funds transfer. A series of security checks and comparisons are performed for guarding against accidental and malicious entry of approval numbers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,850 to Masson et al. discloses an information network and method for providing a nationwide audio text network, including electronic billing, that is useful for a wide variety of applications. The system allows for interactive communication with a computer that supplies the network information to a 1-800 caller. The system is also capable of obtaining electronic credit card authorization or charges, and controls routing an incoming call for redirecting the call to a live operator or to other equipment, or to outgoing lines to any desired destination.
In another conventional system, credit cards are used for paying for service representative calls. In this system, each time the caller calls, the caller's credit card account is accessed and a predetermined charge, such as 100 dollars, is authorized and set aside from the caller's credit card available line of credit. The caller then speaks with a service representative. The actual cost of the call is determined at the end of the call, and then transferred to the credit card company in the normal course of business. The charge is then compared to the amount that has been set aside and the difference between the amount that has been set aside and the actual cost of the call is returned to the caller's available line of credit. Unfortunately for the caller, this process usually takes approximately 3 or 4 days. As a result, the portion of the caller's available line of credit that has been set aside is unavailable for other calls or purchases for the approximately 3 to 4 days that it takes the credit card company to reconcile the authorized amount and the actual amount of the call.
Despite these conventional billing arrangements, there still remains a need in the art of providing services to call-in callers with more efficient payment authorization and billing arrangements.